From Albert Ponnelle, this is a very delicate, feminine Chardonnay, like nothing you'd ever find from the left coast. Nose is fleeting, hard to capture, and it brings an immediate smile on the palate. Round and soft, it was a perfect pairing with orange roughie sauteed in EVOO smothered in sauteed veggies (zuccini, yellow squash, small white onions, green olives, tomatos, garlic). 13% alc/vol and $11.79 at Costco. Back up the truck! (And I don't even LIKE Chardonnay!)

IIRC, the major chainwide wine buying decisions for Costco are made by the corporate wine guru. However, there are 8 or 9 regions domestically and each has a wine buyer who makes decisions beyond corporate's guy based on their local demographics. All that to say you may or may not find a wine in your Costco that can be found elsewhere. As a for instance, a few years ago my daughter in NH bought some 85 Cristal in her local Costco for $90 per. It turns out that was the only Costco to carry that one. When I told her to go back and get the rest of the two cases, they were all gone.

KC's description certainly fits our local environment. A couple of weeks ago, I emailed a couple of friends about a QPR I'd found that was sure to interest them; one of the guys printed out my email and took it with him to Costco, following my directions to the specific display exactly.... and no find. The wine guy happened to be present, so he was shown the email and disclaimed any knowledge of that wine. Turns out my friend was visiting a different Costco, one that's 15 miles from me and serves a more affluent clientele than the one I visit that's only five miles from me. So now, when I send him a heads up, I specify the store to visit.

A serious wine-shopper at Costco needs to visit all of the stores in the area at least once each week. And be sure to ask about re-stocking days, so as not to arrive the day after the good stuff has sold out.

We have no such things here in New York. The number 4 wine-producing state is one out of 15 states that does not allow wines sold in stores other than licensed wine and liquor stores.

In fact, in a few months a story I submitted about the wine in grocery store issue in NY should appear in Vineyard and Winery Management Magazine.

It's a trade journal, but I think it's online. It's the outfit that runs the annual Intl. Eastern Wine Competition.

In any case, we have no Costco around here and I refuse, even if it's allowed someday, to shop in the other big box place. I don't like being accosted by smiling septuagenarians who want to know if I'm ok!